Green Card through Marriage

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pachanga

Registered Users (C)
I am a US citizen and am planning to get married with my girlfriend outside the United States.

1. She has a valid tourist visa (B-2) and is currently stay at my place. Does she have to go back to her country to apply for her green card? Can she remain herself in the United States and apply for her green card?

2. We will have a marriage ceremony within a few weeks in the United States. She is willing to change her last name to my last name. What is the implication of changing her last name in terms of the immigration process? Does she have to change her passport to my last name before applying for her green card?

Thank you
 
Is your wife in the US already?

How long has she been here for?

If shes been here for a while, then yes you can get married and adjust status.

There is no point changing her married name now. Her name change must first go through USCIS.

USCIS must approve her name change on the EAD or greencard first before you change her name on drivers license, SS card, bank accounts, utility bills etc.
 
Larry572

Thank you for your reply. She is from Mexico and passed the border by driving her car. We went to Guatemala last month and came back to Los Angeles (Port of Entry).

I told her that she should not change her last name even we get married. This will delay the Green Card process because she needs to officially change her last name in Mexico first.

Thank you
 
pachanga said:
I am a US citizen and am planning to get married with my girlfriend outside the United States.

1. She has a valid tourist visa (B-2) and is currently stay at my place. Does she have to go back to her country to apply for her green card? Can she remain herself in the United States and apply for her green card?
Click to expand...

If you marry her outside the US, they probably won't let her into the US with a tourist visa if they know about the marriage, because they'll expect her to try to immigrate. So you should either plan on marrying her inside the US and having her stay inside the US to complete the process, or marrying her abroad and having her complete the process outside the US through the consulate in her country.
 
pachanga said:
I told her that she should not change her last name even we get married. This will delay the Green Card process because she needs to officially change her last name in Mexico first.
Click to expand...

She can request a name change for the GC in the GC interview. If she shows the marriage certificate and asks to have your last name on the GC, they will print the GC with her new name.

After that she can work on changing her name in her Mexican passport using whatever procedure they have.
 
I have another question. I am a resident of Nevada but own another house in San Diego. Is it possible to apply for her green card using my address in San Diego? Do I need to apply for it using my address in Nevada? Due to my business reasons, I stay in San Diego 40% of my time.
 
Which is your primary address -- the one where you file taxes as a resident and have your driver's license? Use your primary address, which appears to be Nevada from your description. In the interview they often ask for tax returns and/or your state ID or driver's license, so don't create problems by having the immigration paperwork be inconsistent with that.
 
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